


Dance The Night And Day Away

by SchuylerSister16 (orphan_account)



Series: The Neverwinter High School Anthology [4]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, High School, Maybe - Freeform, Maybe a little Davenchurch, Multi, Neverwinter High School, Romantic Fluff, School Dances, TAZ HS AU, TAZ High School AU, carey and killian, dance, dance competition, dance marathon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 05:11:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19192477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/SchuylerSister16
Summary: Neverwinter High School is gearing up for its most popular fundraiser of the year: Swing-a-Thon, a 24 hour charity dance marathon that brings out everyone’s competitive sides. Carey Fangbattle knows that with Killian at her side, there’s no way they can lose. All they have to do is swing dance for twenty four hours straight.How hard can that be?





	Dance The Night And Day Away

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based on Season 3. Ep. 7 of Gilmore Girls, aka, the dance marathon episode

All across the school, taped on seemingly every empty inch of wall space were the posters. Black, with the blue silhouette of a couple dancing. 3 inch high letters announced Neverwinter High School’s most competitive fundraiser of all. 

The Swing-a-Thon. 

24 hours of swing dancing to raise money for Neverwinter High School. The last couple standing won a trophy and a 1,000 dollar scholarship for each. Needless to say, everyone wanted to win. 

“Fuck yeah!” crowed Carey in the hallway when she saw the poster, slapping a high-five with Killian. “Ready to show these punks who’s boss?”

Killian grinned broadly. “Hell yeah!” Other students stopped and stared at her. Killian towered over everyone in the hallway like a buoy on the ocean.

“Don’t be stupid, you two,” joked Hurley, one arm hooked around her girlfriend, Sloane. “We’re obviously going to win.” Sloane nodded, making her raven locks dance and bounce. 

“Over my dead body,” Killian growled mockingly, unable to keep the grin off of her face. The four of them laughed and parted ways at the sound of the bell, Carey giving Killian a goodbye kiss as she headed off to class. 

Carey and Killian had been in the final five last year. Both of them did sports, and had great endurance that served them on the field, and on the dance floor. But midway through a badass dance move, Carey had twisted her ankle. Despite pleading Killian to keep going, she’d insisted they drop out. 

She was determined to not let that happen again. 

Everyone in her English class was buzzing with news about the dance. “Hey, Fangbattle, gonna do another little ankle twist this year?” It was Lydia Iontas, smirking at her from the back of the classroom. 

“Wasn’t planning on it,” she snorted. “Are you gonna pass out again?” Lydia turned pink and stopped speaking to her immediately. Lydia and Marvey had been in the final three, and Lydia, who had been on a crash diet at the time, suddenly keeled over mid-waltz. She was obviously hungry for redemption. 

Carey took her seat in the middle row beside Noelle, who was scrolling through Instagram. “Are you and Killian gonna try again this year?” Carey absolutely adored her, a tiny sophomore who always had a smile for everyone.  

“Obviously!” Noelle smiled absentmindedly at Carey’s enthusiasm, making the corners of her golden brown eyes crinkle. “Thinking about partnering up with somebody?”

“I don’t know,” she mused, putting her phone into her coral-colored messenger bag. “Everybody’s already got a partner, and it just seems like way too much drama, you know?” Carey nodded in agreement. Shouting matches in the halls and lunch room always seemed to reach a fever pitch whenever Swing-a-Thon came around. 

“Alright class, let’s get started.” Mrs. Rachel was not a loud woman, per se, but was respected and beloved by almost every student. The chatter died instantly. “I want everyone to open up to page 37…”

* * *

 

Carey set her tray of fish sticks down and bestowed a quick kiss upon her girlfriend. “Hey guys!” The Cafeteria was crowded, as usual, but her friends always made sure that she had a seat at their table. 

“Hey Carey!” grinned Magnus through a mouthful of fries. Had they both not been dating someone, she would’ve definitely partnered up with her best friend. “Gonna try for the win this time?”

“You know it,” she smiled back, digging into her fish sticks and sweet potato fries. Lunch with her friends was one of the best parts of the day. It was always fun, always crazy, and always something to look forward to. 

Julia, stealing one of Magnus’s fries, asked, “What are you two going to raise money for?” It was a charity competition, after all. Students collected pledges from people, and donated the money to any part of the school they wanted. 

“We’ll probably do 50/50 for gymnastics and hockey again,” Killian replied. Carey nodded; the gymnastics team was perpetually underfunded, and Killian had to fight to keep Neverwinter’s female team afloat. “How about you guys?”

“Maggie and I were thinking of donating to the McElroy Memorial Theater.” While Julia didn’t say it aloud, everyone knew why they weren’t donating to football or cheer: they were the best-funded sports in school. “It’s practically falling apart.” 

“You can say that again,” muttered Taako. 

“Seems like half the school’s already signed up,” Lucretia said, taking sips from a cup of coffee. She looked exhausted. Her eyes, normally inquisitive and bright, were bloodshot and tired. An event like Swing-a-Thon took up most of her afternoons, forcing her to stay up later and later to complete her homework.

Taako, busy painting his nails electric pink, nodded thoughtfully. “Me and Krav are gonna smoke the competition,” he declared, eyeing Lup critically. 

“Not if me and Barry have anything to say about it!” Neither of the twins particularly cared about winning the competition. They just wanted to beat each other. 

Barry gave Lup an incredulous look. “Lup, you know I suck at dancing,” he sighed, closing his trig textbook and taking a couple of bites from a lactose-free tuna sandwich. He’d been saying that to her since they were freshman, and it hadn’t had any effect since then. 

“It’s okay, babe, I still love you.” 

Magnus scoffed and patted Julia on the hand. “Looks like we’ve got this one in the bag, dove.” In addition to being a fantastic dancer, Julia was super athletic. That, coupled with Magnus’s stamina and refusal to lose any sort of competition, had helped them win last year. 

“Ah, young love.” Merle hadn’t volunteered any information on who he was going with. Word in the halls was that he and Hekuba’s relationship was on the rocks. 

Lucretia cocked an eyebrow at him. “Who’re you taking, Merle?” 

“Not Hekuba, that’s for damn sure,” he muttered to the untouched slice of pizza on his plate. Carey winced. Merle seemed to be skilled at making any conversation awkward. 

Julia appeared to be heartbroken on his behalf. “That sucks. What happened?”

Merle shot a glance at one of the far corners of the cafeteria. “Glymeth Coralheart happened.” Sure enough, Hekuba was holding hands with a crusty surfer-looking kid. Everyone winced sympathetically. 

Davenport, who had remained silent up until that point and was busy eating a salad, suddenly put down his fork and said, “well if you need a partner, I’d be up for it.” 

“Really?” Out of the corner of her eye, Carey watched money change hands between the Cerci twins. 

Davenport shrugged. “Yeah. As long as Lucretia’s down.” Davenport and Lucretia occasionally went to dances and events together as friends since neither of them were dating anyone.

“Don’t worry about me,” Lucretia snorted, not looking up from her iPad. 

“Sounds like a plan, Dav.” The two shook on it, and Davenport returned to his salad. Carey wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw Dav’s cheeks flush for a second. 

For the rest of lunch period, couples drifted over to Lucretia and handed her their submission forms. “They’re supposed to take it to the damn office,” she muttered darkly as Cassidy and Isaak added their form to the growing pile. 

Even Lydia and Marvey dropped by wearing almost identical sneers. “Looks like we’ve got this one in the bag, Marv,” Lydia said to no one in particular, her long pink nails drumming against the table. 

“Brave words from someone who keeled over in the middle of a waltz,” Lup shot back with a too-bright smile. Under the table, Carey watched Barry take her hand and grip it tightly. 

Lydia snickered and tossed her hair in what was obviously supposed to be a winning manner. “Oh please, Lup, you didn’t even make it past hour 19 last year.” 

“Okay, that’s enough.” Lucretia set down her coffee with a slam on the cafeteria table, murder in her bloodshot eyes. “Lydia, I’ll see you this afternoon at ASB. In the meantime, I’d rather not see you at all.” 

“You can’t talk to her like that, bitch,” Marvey snarled, cracking his knuckles threateningly. Carey felt her blood beginning to boil, and beside her, Killian looked ready to jump up and start swinging. 

Lucretia smiled witheringly at him, a look that made her seem older and more powerful than a senior in high school. “If you’re going to try insulting me, the least you could do is be a tad more creative about it.” And without another word, she turned back to her iPad. 

“You guys should go,” snarled Julia, her hands clenched into fists at her side. She hated watching any of her friends get hassled. 

Lydia rolled her eyes dramatically, and turned to walk away. “See you on the dance floor, Waxman.” And she strutted away like she was on a catwalk as Marvey trailed behind her. 

“We’d better get going too,” said Magnus, hastily shoving things back into his blue Jansport. Carey looked up at the clock, lunch was over in two minutes. She dreaded going to pre calc, but it had to be done. 

Taako shoved his nail polish back into a glittery gold makeup bag. “If you chucklefucks need outfits for Swing-a-Thon, I’ll be at the costume vault this afternoon.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” called Julia over her shoulder as she headed for the exit. Seconds later, the bell rang. Students immediately begin swarming the doors and dumping the garbage. It was more than a little chaotic. 

Killian grabbed her in the commotion and bestowed another quick kiss upon her. “Do you wanna hit up Taako for costumes again?” It had worked well last year. Their dresses were paid many compliments throughout the night. 

“Sounds good,” Carey replied, hand in hand with her girlfriend as they navigated their way through the throng of students in the courtyard. It wasn’t a very nice day out. The sky was a dirty gray color, a sure sign that rain was coming. But Carey didn’t mind. She liked the rain. 

Killian suddenly stopped in her tracks and just stared at Carey with a wide smile, both hands on her hips. “What are you so happy about?” asked Carey, smiling back at her girlfriend. 

“That the coolest, prettiest girl in school is  _ my  _ girlfriend,” Killian bragged. 

“Aw, thanks babe.” 


End file.
